chant
Americannoun
-
chants
plural
-
a short, simple melody, especially one characterized by single notes to which an indefinite number of syllables are intoned, used in singing psalms, canticles, etc., in church services.
-
a psalm, canticle, or the like, chanted or for chanting.
-
the singing or intoning of all or portions of a liturgical service.
-
any monotonous song.
-
a song; singing.
the chant of a bird.
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a monotonous intonation of the voice in speaking.
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a phrase, slogan, or the like, repeated rhythmically and insistently, as by a crowd.
verb (used with object)
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chants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chanted,
past participle, past
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chanting
present participle
-
to sing to a chant, or in the manner of a chant, especially in a church service.
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to sing.
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to celebrate in song.
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to repeat (a phrase, slogan, etc.) rhythmically and insistently.
verb (used without object)
-
chants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chanted,
past participle, past
-
chanting
present participle
-
to sing.
-
to utter a chant.
noun
-
a simple song or melody
-
a short simple melody in which several words or syllables are assigned to one note, as in the recitation of psalms
-
a psalm or canticle performed by using such a melody
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a rhythmic or repetitious slogan, usually spoken or sung, as by sports supporters, etc
-
monotonous or singsong intonation in speech
verb
-
to sing or recite (a psalm, prayer, etc) as a chant
-
to intone (a slogan) rhythmically or repetitiously
-
to speak or say monotonously as if intoning a chant
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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chantsimple
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chantssimple
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have chantedperfect
-
has chantedperfect
-
am chantingprogressive
-
are chantingprogressive
-
is chantingprogressive
-
have been chantingperfect progressive
-
has been chantingperfect progressive
Past
-
chantedsimple
-
had chantedperfect
-
was chantingprogressive
-
were chantingprogressive
-
had been chantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chant
First recorded in 1350–1400; (verb) Middle English chanten, from Middle French chanter, from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere “to sing”; (noun) from French chant, from Latin cantus; see canto
Explanation
A chant is a type of song with a repetitive, monotonous structure. It’s also something sports fans love to do. At the Olympics, some Americans chant, “USA! USA! USA!” In addition to being something fans like to yell together, a chant is a traditional form in a lot of religious music. There are Catholic chants, Hindu chants, Jewish chants, and the list goes on. Because of this type of music, “to chant” means “to repeat something in a monotone or repetitive way.” Chants have no harmony or instruments, only a simple rhythm and a lot of repetition.
Vocabulary lists containing chant
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As my former Salon colleague Alison Stine described it in her story about the history of “Hey Jude” as a British football chant, it sounds great when it reverberates through a huge stadium.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
"I was really happy when, at Jantar Mantar, I used to chant 'Jai Bhim', thousands of other people followed," he said, referring to a slogan associated with Dalit icon BR Ambedkar.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Some of that wisdom in Van Tassel’s growing community was centered on “Peace, love and harmony” — a chant that allegedly made someone at The Times suspicious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
As they craft, artisans chant aloud the design code handwritten on a strip of paper known as talim -- shorthand of ancient symbols for numbers and colours -- knotting the threads string by string.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
With a resigned shudder she let me put my arm around her, press her head to my shoulder, lay my fingers across her lips to stop her deadly chant.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
The head of the Catholic Church blessed several babies as he stopped at different stages along the avenue as chants of "Leo, Leo" rang out.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
After a season of “Sell The Team” chants, Moreno did.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
It was startling at the time to hear those chants.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Secular Israelis were prepared with a counter-protest, blowing whistles to drown out the chants and with some wearing pink lapel buttons showing a middle finger.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
They repeated the stories about good times in Oakland and San Diego; they repeated them like long medicine chants, the beer bottles pounding on the counter tops like drums.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
The set starts reasonably well with the title track, a bouncy synthetic confection with chanted verses that recalls hits from Kesha.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
At the final session of parliament in July, MPs stood and applauded as the speaker of the house chanted repeatedly:
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“Ted, you suck! Ted, you suck!” several hundred students chanted for nearly 10 minutes on Saturday morning, standing behind the Republican and booing as Davis attempted to conduct a one-on-one interview.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Protesters chanted slogans against Sheinbaum and a group burned a cardboard effigy of her.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
“Thank you, Rukku. Thank you, Rukku,” Muthu chanted.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
Outside in the pouring rain, around 50 protesters with umbrellas gathered outside Istanbul's Caglayan courthouse under the watch of several dozen police officers, chanting: "Denis Goktas is not alone!"
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
After full-time the officials informed FAI staff members that they did not subsequently hear any racist chanting.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
At Al Sharpton’s National Action Network convention, when a crowd began chanting “Run again!,”
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
They stood shoulder to shoulder, raising their fists and chanting that they were prepared to defend the school "with body and soul".
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
People in the crowd started chanting, “Jake! Jake! Jake!”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
